One law for men, another for women

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That the appointment of women to high legal office is still seen as
peculiar reflects poorly on the community as a whole.

When a prominent Melbourne Queen's counsel said a couple of
years ago that it appeared to be an advantage for candidates
seeking high legal office in Victoria not to have testicles, his
remarks were taken as an outburst of hubris. In response, a senior
female member of the bar promptly walked out of the function. The
QC, who later would neither confirm nor deny that he had made the
remarks, subsequently claimed mild inebriation and apologised in
person to the offended female barrister. The testicles comment
appeared to be a reflection upon the appointment of 25 women to
judicial and senior legal positions in Victoria over the preceding
four years. These included the appointment of Marilyn Warren as
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Pamela Tate, SC, as
Solicitor-General. But equally the comment might have been taken as
a call for a metaphorical circling of the fraternal legal
wagons.

Women in the law have faced a decidedly uphill battle to be
accepted in a male domain. The appointment last week of Susan
Crennan to the High Court, only the second woman to join that bench
in its 102-year history, and the reappointment in Queensland
earlier this month of Di Fingleton to the magistracy, tell in
different ways of the inequalities women lawyers still face in the
21st century. It is just 100 years since Flos Grieg became the
first female solicitor in Australia when she was admitted to
practice in Victoria in August 1905. Her admission actually
entailed the passage of enabling legislation through the Victorian
Parliament.

It would be another 57 years before South Australian Roma
Mitchell became the country's first female Queen's counsel. In
1965, Mitchell became Australia's first woman judge when she was
appointed to the SA Supreme Court. Another decade would elapse
before Elizabeth Evatt became the first woman judge on a federal
court, the newly created Family Court of Australia. That court is
now headed by Diana Bryant, appointed to the post last year. For
all these advances, women still account for fewer than one in five
principals or partners in Victorian law firms.

Joan Rosanove, Victoria's first female QC, battled the
prejudices that flowed from the twin handicaps of being a woman and
Jewish. "You must have the stamina of an ox and a hide like a
rhinoceros. And when they kick you in the teeth you must look as if
you hadn't noticed," she once said of her learned (male) friends.
It was sound advice at the time, and probably it is still being
heeded by some women in the law. And, increasingly, women lawyers
are kicking back.

Fingleton is a case in point. Formerly Queensland's chief
magistrate, she spent six months in jail in 2003 after being
wrongly prosecuted on a charge of threatening a subordinate in an
email. The High Court later set aside the conviction. Fingleton
believes she encountered opposition as she rose through the ranks
because she pushed reform too quickly, because she has a blunt
manner and because she was a woman. Her husband, lawyer John
McGrath, says her rapid rise brought resistance from an old guard
within the ranks who simply did not want a woman as chief
magistrate. "Her management style in a man would be considered
strong," he said. "In a woman you're a bitch."

The role that gender played in Fingleton's downfall can never be
determined exactly, but it was clearly a significant factor. She
then faced the battle of recompense for her wrongful imprisonment.
She has since been reappointed a magistrate at Caloundra on the
Sunshine Coast.

That the appointment of women to high legal office is still seen
as peculiar reflects poorly on the community as a whole. That women
lawyers still feel compelled to form gender-specific associations
to promote career development within their profession and as a
bulwark against prejudice is an even worse reflection on the values
that prevail among their male colleagues.

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1126982262878-theage.com.auhttp://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/one-law-for-men-another-for-women/2005/09/24/1126982262878.htmltheage.com.auThe Age2005-09-25One law for men, another for womenThat the appointment of women to high legal office is still seen as
peculiar reflects poorly on the community as a whole.OpinionOpinionEditorial